Red Hat Linux Advanced Server

Red Hat Linux Advanced Server targets the corporation using Linux as the foundation for departmental or enterprise server applications that require performance, scalability, and reliability.

Red Hat has made changes to the Linux kernel to improve the performance of servers using multiple processors and large amounts of memory. For example, it has added asynchronous I/O, finer-grained I/O operations, and an improved process scheduler that works better with symmetrical multiprocessing (SMP) systems. Also, Advanced Server has support for clustering and fail-over, so if one server fails, a second server can take over the application processing.

The Red Hat Cluster Manager also has I/O clustering, so Network File System (NFS) storage can be accessed by multiple servers. Finally, IP load balancing can be used to balance the load across multiple servers. These Red Hat options provide an alternative or companion to other high-availability solutions such as database clustering or network load balancers.

Red Hat has announced three other important changes for Advanced Server. First, the release cycle will be lengthened, almost certainly leading to a more reliable platform (short release cycles typically lead to more bugs). Second, Red Hat will work with software providers to certify their offerings on Red Hat Advanced Server. Finally, the application APIs will be locked for longer periods so that customers can maintain binary compatibility, knowing that their applications will run on future versions of Advanced Server.

The product comes in three flavors, with level of support being the difference. All versions have one year of Red Hat Network Enterprise support for package updates.

As we went to press, the United Linux Initiative formed by Caldera, Connectiva, SuSE, and TurboLinux announced its intent for a standard enterprise Linux. We don't know whether Red Hat will join this initiative, but if it does, this will have a major impact on Red Hat Linux Advanced Server.

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Rob Lipschutz is PC Magazine's Lead Analyst for Business and Networking. He is responsible for our coverage of networking, and of services and software targeted at the unique needs of smaller businesses. As former Technical Director, Networking for PC Magazine, he just can't get these products out of his blood. Rob has written three books and numerous articles on networking and Internet products and technologies. His continuing quest is to find those products that truly help to improve, even revolutionize, the way your business works...
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